


Through the Eyes of a Student

by puzzlingnerd57



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-26 13:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12060213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puzzlingnerd57/pseuds/puzzlingnerd57
Summary: Various one-shots depicting events as seen through the eyes of high school/college students.





	1. Roulette

**Author's Note:**

> The initial idea for this came to me during class when the teacher was choosing people to present, and I thought that it felt an awful lot like a game of Russian Roulette. I decided that I had to write about it. If I come up with other ideas, I will add them on, but the updates (if any) will be sporadic at best.

It is quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop onto the gray carpeted floor. No one dares to even breath louder than necessary to survive. The only sound present is the rough shushing at the front of the room, as the ruler randomly thumbs through what will decide their fate.

The stark white lighting makes the cinder block walls harsh and angular. Threatening. The high ceilings with the wire enclosed bulbs loom over the seated beings, bringing the feeling that they could hardly be smaller.

The door at the back of the room stands tall and ominous, daring a participant to leave. The digital clock gleams a bloody red, blocky numbers seeming frozen in the moment. 

In every seat, the ridged fabric serves as a discomfort, making more than one of those present wish they could stand, if only for the relief it would bring after being stuck in a hard seat for so long. The textured backs rubbed against the backs of those involved, adding to the tension of the small space.

Each participant is faced with a mass of words and images. Words and images that none could even begin to comprehend. Strange diagrams and foreign phrases jumbled together before their eyes as they desperately sought a familiar sounding word, a comforting concept they understood. Fingers frantically underlined text, moved along charts and graphs, praying that something would make sense for a change.

No one wanted their fate to be decided this way. No one wants to be involved with this deadly game of chance. No one wants to be the one fired on. The leader walks away from their post at the head of the room, behind an imposing podium, still holding the chooser of their destiny.

There is a collective inhale, as the ruler makes their choice. Everyone prays, not me, please not me. Sweat pools on their foreheads as their heart begin to pound. Hands tremble in fearful anticipation. A swish sounded as the decision was made. The ruler looked straight into the eyes of their prey.

"Colin. Perhaps you could explain why there is a difference in metabolic rates between the two species."


	2. Fresh Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing so precious as a breath of fresh air when you spend time in a cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came to me during a fire drill. Said fire drill occurred during a class taking place on the bottom level of the building, resulting in tiny windows, and a cell-like feel. Enjoy!

Silence reigned within the cell. The prisoners trapped inside sat in silence, not even the ticking of the clock to distract them, remind them that time was even passing. A monotonous voice droned on at the front of the room, drowning the occupants in a sense of boredom.

Not a single person really wanted to be there. They didn't have a choice in the matter. It's not as if they had chosen to sit in this room forever. They were assigned this fate. One they had wanted to fight, but knew they wouldn't win.

The voice continued to ramble on, a topic that none of them understood, tried to comprehend, or wanted to know about. They were resigned to their fate. They would die in here. 

High, small windows blocked out by solid fabric mocked them by allowing slivers of warm light through that struggled to penetrate the clinical whiteness engulfing them. Tan walls taunted them, bleaching out any hope of staying awake. 

How long had it been? Had time even passed? Were they ever going to escape? Was there a world out there anymore, or had it been destroyed? Had it been absorbed by this monotony?

Suddenly...

"BWAHH BWAHH BWAHH" A siren blared out. Every person in the room jumped out of their seat, knowing instinctively what that sound meant they had to do, ingrained in them since their youth. Abandoning their papers and the droning voice, they filed out of the cell, the corridor filling quickly with the occupants of the other cells, chattering with excitement as they scaled the staircases winding upwards. The light grew less harsh and more welcoming the higher they climbed.

Eventually, they reached the top, and other hallways added more people to their number as they streamed out the glass barriers keeping them from the outside world. Soon, every member of the group was laughing and smiling as they breathed in fresh clean air. Not filtered, stale air. Cool, warm, sunny, fresh air. They silently and boldly rejoiced at the short reprieve.

They all knew that this bliss wouldn't last forever. They knew leaving now would mean leaving behind their things in that cell, and risking the wrath of their warden. They knew that in less than 5 minutes, they would be herded back into their concrete rooms to continue the monotony and boredom. But they knew that they had gotten out. They had seen the sun. Time had passed.

They'd be allowed out soon.


End file.
